Below are some tidbits on baseball and sportscard collecting.
Visit our web site for more info on vintage and current
baseball, football, basketball, hockey, sports and
non-sport cards and card collecting.

Q1: How long have sports cards been around ?

(part 1)
The first baseball trading cards date back to 1869. For many years,
baseball cards were packaged in packs of tobacco as a way to increase sales
the same way that today prizes are packaged in boxes of cereal.
In the 1920's and 1930's, candy and gum companies started packaging baseball
cards in their products as well.

Baseball card production was virtually halted in the early 1940's due to paper
shortages created by World War II. The "Modern Era" of baseball cards began in
1948 when Bowman Gum Inc. offered one card and one piece of gum in a pack for a penny.

The first important football set was the Mayo set featuring college players
in 1984. Other than the 1935 National Chicle set no other key football set was
issued until 1948 when noth Bowman and Leaf produced sets.

The issue below is featured elsewhere on this website:

1967 Topps WHO AM I ?

NM/MINT to MINT COMPLETE 1976 Crane Potato Chip Football Discs Set.

It's easy to see why the 1967 Topps "Who Am I? set is a favorite of both sports and non-
sport collectors. The set's 44 cards feature mostly important figures from world history
but what makes this set even more popular was the inclusion of 4 of baseball's most
popular players: Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Sandy Koufax !!!

The players picture on the front is covered with a scratch-off disguise with silly,
exaggerated features like hair, moustaches, hats, noses... and clues to help kids identify
the famous person pictured. The backs contained additional clues and instructions to
"Scratch off disguise on front to discover Who I Am. Use a coin or fingernail."

Cards with their scratch-off coating intact are worth many, many times cards with the
coatings removed. For example, NM/MINT Babe Ruth with the coating is in the $200-$400
range while a NM/MINT Ruth with the coating removed is closer to $25.

1962 Topps Baseball Bucks

Another Hit Topps Test Issue from the 1960's !!!
The 1962 Topps Bucks were one of Topps most creative Test Issues.
Each "Buck" resembled U.S. currency and measured 1 3/4" x 4 1/8" but
instead of George Washington staring at you, it could be Mickey Mantle !!!
A drawing of the player's home park along with a brief write-up
also appeared on the front. The backs included team and league logos.

The 1962 Topps Bucks test issue was sold in it's own 1 cent wax packs and
was not an insert in 1962 Topps wax packs.
Most examples exist with a fold line but it should not be overly noticeable.
Player selection was great as the set is packed with numerous Hall-of-Famers
including MICKEY MANTLE, Willie Mays, Sandy Koufax, Roberto Clemente,
Carl Yastrzemski, Stan Musial, Al Kaline, Brooks Robinson, Don Drysdale,
Ernie Banks, Hank Aaron and more !!!